Remembering Dikembe Mutombo: 1966-2024
- Jake C
- Sep 30
- 3 min read
*Cover photo: Dikembe Mutombo of the Denver Nuggets is guarded by the Seattle SuperSonics’ Shawn Kemp during Game 5 of the two teams’ first-round playoff series in 1994. The Nuggets won the series in six games, which marked the first time that a 8-seed defeated a 1-seed in a playoff series.
Today, September 30, 2025, marks one year since the passing from brain cancer of Basketball Hall of Fame center Dikembe Mutombo at the age of 58. Below is a revised piece of the original that I wrote on him last year.
The NBA family lost another legend on Monday morning.
It has been a tough year with the losses of Jerry West, Bill Walton, and Chet Walker. Insider Shams Charania broke news Monday that Hall of Fame center Dikembe Mutombo has died of brain cancer at the age of 58.
Before he was drafted fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1991 NBA Draft, Mutombo played three years for the legendary John Thompson at Georgetown University, where he led the NCAA in blocks per game twice - in 1989-90 (4.1) and 1990-91 (4.7). He also led the nation in rebounds as a senior, grabbing 12.2 boards per game.
The 7 foot, 2 inch Mutombo - “Mount Mutombo” - averaged 16.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks as a rookie, garnering All-Star honors. In the Nuggets’ 1994 first-round series against the Seattle SuperSonics, he led an upset for the 8th-seeded Nuggets. In Game 3 of the series, he tallied 13 rebounds in the 110-93 Nuggets’ win, and in the series averaged 12.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 6.2 blocks per game.
In an 18-year-career that lasted until he was 42 years old, Mutombo averaged 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game in 1,196 games, playing 30.8 minutes per game.
He led the NBA in blocks per game from 1993-1996, averaging 4.1, 3.9, and 4.5. He also led the NBA in rebounding for two seasons - 14.1 in 1999-00 and 13.5 in 2000-01. On April 18, 1993, Mutombo recorded a career-high 12 blocks in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Thirteen times in his career, he tallied 10 or more blocks in a game. Mutombo was an 8-time All-Star and the 2000-01 Defensive Player of the Year (10.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.7 blocks), in a campaign where he was traded forty-nine games in from the Atlanta Hawks to the Philadelphia 76ers.
In that ‘00-‘01 season, he also led the NBA in defensive and offensive rebounds per game, at 9.4 and 4.1. The 76ers made the ‘01 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
The former Georgetown star played for the New Jersey Nets for one season in 2002-03 before he suited up for the New York Knicks for the 2003-04 season. From 2004-2009, he played for the Houston Rockets, where he played the role of mentor to All-Star Yao Ming.
Mutombo’s No. 55 jersey was retired by the Nuggets on October 29, 2016 and by the Hawks on November 24, 2015. As a Nugget from 1991-96, Mutombo played 36.9 minutes per game in 391 games and averaged 12.9 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game. As a Hawk from 1996-00, he played 343 games (36.2 minutes) and averaged 11.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its 2015 class.
Mutombo was the NBA’s first Global Ambassador, and was awarded the J. Walker Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009. In 1997, he created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to help those in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, where he built hospitals. He was invited in 2007 by then-President George W. Bush to his 2007 State of the Union Address. Mutombo was truly one of the good guys in professional sports who saw the big picture of giving back to communities and using his platform to help others.
RIP, Dikembe Mutombo.
Comments